NHS LANARKSHIRE has been reviewing the provision of older people’s services to reduce unnecessary hospital admissions and provide more support for patients in their own homes.
The review is part of the Government’s Reshaping Care for Older People policy. This will change the way care is provided for older people across Scotland as we move from hospital-based care to community care.
NHS Lanarkshire has been working with local authority partners and the voluntary and independent sectors to provide additional support for patients and their carers. This will mean older people will avoid unnecessary admissions to hospital and will be able to get home much quicker if they are admitted hospital.
Additional services are now being developed and as a result fewer inpatient beds are needed for older patients in Lanarkshire as more people receive care in their own homes. It is anticipated that this will reduce the need for approximately 120 inpatient beds in South Lanarkshire.
Due to the reducing numbers of patients who require long-term continuing care in the Clydesdale area, the 20-bed ward at Roadmeetings Hospital will close in the first stage of this process.
Rosemary Lyness, director of NHS Lanarkshire’s acute services, said: “There have already been significant improvements in older people’s care within South Lanarkshire and these are reducing the reliance on inpatient hospital care for older people.
“We have reduced the numbers of delayed discharges from hospital and have developed improved home support for patients. These changes, along with the consistent application of criteria regarding the types of patients who qualify for continuing care within NHS hospitals, have impacted significantly on the number of patients being admitted to Roadmeetings Hospital.
“Recently only a small number of patients have been cared for in the hospital. As the Reshaping Care for Older People policy is further implemented with more care provided to patients in their own homes, clinical staff were concerned there could be a point where only one or two patients were in the hospital at any one time. This would increase the risk of social isolation of patients.
“Furthermore Roadmeetings is an old building which requires significant investment. We have modern, fit-for-purpose facilities at both Lockhart and Stonehouse hospitals which can provide services for Clydesdale patients who require continuing care.”
There are currently five patients at Roadmeetings and, following discussion with their families, they will move to Stonehouse Hospital over the next two weeks. It is anticipated that the Roadmeetings Hospital site will then close on a permanent basis no later than 31 March.
The closure of the site will allow further resources to be invested in the development of community-based services for patients and their carers.